This blog features my weekly column called "What's up in the sky". It is published every Saturday in the Ellensburg newspaper, Daily Record (http://www.kvnews.com/). While my postings will be most accurate for Central Washington, readers throughout the northern USA may find something of use.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

The Ellensburg WA sky for the week of 8/5/17

Saturday: The
Perseid meteor shower hits its peak late for the next few nights with Friday
and Saturday being the peak of the peak. The meteors appear to come from a
point just below the W of the constellation Cassiopeia. This point is about two
and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the northeast horizon
at 11 p.m. By dawn, this point is about seven fists above the northeast
horizon. If you fall asleep or forget to set your alarm, you will be able to
observe this shower from about 11 p.m. to dawn for the next few nights in about
the same location in the sky. The Perseid shower is one of the longest lasting
showers. The waning gibbous moon will obscure most of the dimmer meteors. For
tips about optimizing your viewing this year, go to http://goo.gl/Ylk9jA. As your Mother might
say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment. These
meteors are sand to pea-sized bits of rock that fell off of Comet Swift-Tuttle.
They are traveling about 40 miles per second as they collide with the Earth and
burn up in the atmosphere.

Sunday: Seventeenth
century astronomers documented the appearance of a new star, or “nova”, in
1670. However as modern astronomers studied the records of the star, called
Nova Vulpeculae 1670, they realized it didn’t have the characteristics of a
typical nova because it didn’t repeatedly brighten and dim. It brightened twice
and disappeared for good. Turning their telescopes to the region, they
discovered the chemical signature to be characteristic of a very rare collision
of two stars. For more information about this discovery, go to http://goo.gl/rJnC2G.
Nova Vulpeculae 1670 is right below the binary star system Alberio, the head of
Cygnus the swan. Alberio is seven fists above the southeast horizon at 11 p.m.

Monday: Saturn
is two fists above due south and Jupiter is one and a half fists above the
west-southwest horizon at 9:17 p.m.

Tuesday: If
you want to show your loved ones a celestial sign that they should hang up
their clothes, show them Brocchi's Cluster, commonly known as the Coat Hanger
cluster because of its resemblance to an upside down coat hanger. The cluster
is six fists above the southeast horizon at 10:30 p.m., midway between Altair
and Vega, the two brightest stars in the Summer Triangle. You'll need
binoculars to make out the shape. First find Altair four fists above the
southeast horizon. Slowly move your binoculars up toward Vega. You will run
into the coat hanger along the way. And while you are at it, put away your
shoes.

Wednesday: Venus is two fists above the east horizon at 5 a.m.

Thursday: Many big city dwellers never see the milky white, nearly
continuous band of stars known as the Milky Way. As cities grow and add more
lights, it has become harder to see the bulk of the Milky Way galaxy, our home
in the universe. But, there are two easy ways to see the Milky Way. The first
way is to look in the mirror. You are part of the Milky Way. The second way is to
look from due north through the point straight overhead (called the zenith) to
due south from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. for the next two weeks. This is the time of
year when the Milky Way is highest in the sky and away from the city lights on
the horizon.

Friday: It’s
not too early to start planning for the solar eclipse coming August 21. Sky
& Telescope magazine has an article about what to look for if you are in
the path of totality: confused animals, the corona, and the diamond rings.
Confused? Just read the article at https://goo.gl/BjFGYE. To learn more about the eclipse
conditions in your area, go to www.greatamericaneclipse.com.

The
positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically
accurate for the entire week. For up to date information about the night sky,
go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.